West Chester scored first as Sr. John O'Donnell picked off a Liam Nadler pass and returned it 48 yards for the touchdown. After a punt exchange, Dante Devine forced a fumble which was landed on by Anthony McCloskey at the Gannon 32. A few plays later, LaRonn Lee made a great leaping catch and hung on to a 23-yard pass from Mike Mattei for a touchdown. At this point, it looked like last week in reverse.
But Gannon QB Liam Nadler led the Golden Knights on a seven minute drive until the Golden Ram defense stiffened, holding Gannon to 45-yard field goal. The West Chester offense sputtered for the remainder of the first half and the stiff southerly breeze started to dictate field position. It looked like the score would stay 14-3 at the half, but Gannon's Abraham Ocasio caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the last minute to cut West Chester's lead to 14-10.
Last week at Delaware, the Golden Rams opened each half with a sound offensive plan and execution. That was not the case against Gannon. Gannon forced a three-and-out to start the second half and generally kept Rondell White bottled up all afternoon. White finished with 45 yards on 18 carries. White looked to break out of the funk when he picked up 23 of those yards on one play which gave the Golden Rams a first down at Gannon's 20-yard line. But West Chester then got zero yards on the next four plays. On the ensuing possession, Gannon's Abraham Ocasio slipped behind the defense, caught a Liam Nadler lob and made a host of West Chester tacklers miss as he weaved his way 66 yards into the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, Gannon continued to move the ball with relative ease until Carl Barnes picked off a pass at the West Chester 12. The Golden Rams managed only one first down on that drive and a 16-yard punt gave Gannon the ball at midfield with nine minutes left. But John O'Donnell got his second interception of the game. This possession ended with a 29-yard Mike Mattei to Erick Brundidge touchdown pass giving the Golden Rams a 21-17 lead.
Carl Barnes and Al-Haj Shabazz made a key stop on Gannon's fourth and three attempt, giving West Chester the ball on the Gannon 36. West Chester moved the ball to the Gannon 10, but when faced with a fourth-and-one with the breeze at their back, elected not to go for the field goal which would have extended the lead to seven. Although they failed to get the first down, the defense once again stepped up and stopped Gannon's later fake punt attempt, ending the game.
Notes - R-Fr. Adam Dempsey saw his first collegiate action and had two catches, one resulting in a first down in the fourth quarter...R-Fr. Brandon Monk saw more action in this game and picked up 28 yards on the ground in addition to returning kickoffs...So. Rich Bruno dropped half of his eight punts inside the Gannon 20...the Golden Ram defense forced a total of five turnovers and held the Golden Knights to 3 of 14 on third down...West Chester had a five minute advantage in time of possession...So. Ronell Williams had 12 tackles, including two for loss, and a forced fumble, but was also flagged for a personal foul after a third down incomplete pass...Fr. Andrew Cohen continued to impress with a total of six tackles with three of those resulting in losses
West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Slips past Gannon With Late Score, 21-17
Gannon Athletic Site - Gannon Football Comes up Short Against West Chester 21-17
Daily Local News - Defense, late score help WCU escape in home opener
GoErie.com - Gannon lets lead slip away at West Chester
The Gannon Knight - West Chester sinks Gannon
WCHE 1520 - West Chester 21 - Gannon 17 - Game Podcast